Page 42 of Dining for Love

“So what did you do?” Mom pops her head into the window as I prep the lemons.

“Just hung out.” I pray I sound innocent.

Mom beams while Goldie waggles her eyebrows behind her back. “That’s wonderful, honey.”

“Yep,” Goldie adds. “Wonderful.”

Matty appears midway through the shift, and I swing out of the kitchen to say hello.

“Goldie tells me Reid came over yesterday.” His eyes glitter mischievously. “You have a good time?”

I groan. I’m never going to hear the end of it from them. “Could you be a little quieter?” I ask, keeping my voice low as I pour him a cup of coffee and gesture at the two old men at the opposite end of the counter. “Tom and Jerry are right there.”

“We already know about your date with Officer Reid,” Jerry calls.

I nearly drop the coffee pot. Who knew the old geezer had such good hearing? “Oh,” I say weakly.

Goldie swings over and mercifully lowers her voice. “Quick, tell us what happened.”

I sigh. “He, um...”

Matty chuckles, and Goldie offers, “Went down on you?”

“Oh my God,” I mutter, again beyond embarrassed. “Not in front of Matty.”

Matty pats my hand. “Willa, you’ve seen me shoulder-deep in a cow, helping it give birth. Not like I’m unfamiliar with how this works.”

“Are you comparing a calf birth to hooking up, Matty?” Goldie says in mock outrage.

“Oh my God, will you two shut up,” I hiss as Jerry leans closer. I glare at him, and he leans back toward Tom. Lowering my voice, I relent. “Fine. He came over, we hung out all day, it was awesome. Then he, um?—”

“Ate you out,” Goldie supplies.

My entire body is on fire. I clear my throat. “And then I fell asleep.”

Goldie’s eyes bug out. “You...fellasleep?”

Matty guffaws.

“I hate you both,” I mumble, spinning away.

“No, no, no, wait,” Goldie wheezes, grabbing my arm to keep me in place. “I need to understand how in the world this could have?—”

“Willa!” Dad calls. “Break’s over.”

Saved by Dad. Before I can overthink it, I lean over the counter and lower my voice. I want to get this over with, and since it was my own mouth that got me into this mess, I need to get out of it. “It was the best orgasm of my life, he told me to relax, and the next thing I know I’m waking up at two in the morning. I swear it’s like the man drugged me.”

“He just orgasmed you,” Goldie proclaims. “Congratulations.”

“Maybe stay awake next time,” Matty offers helpfully. “Never know what could happen next.”

“We are never talking about this again.”Because what happened last night will never happen again.Cheeks burning, I turn around to head back to cook.

The next time I turn to the window, Matty studies me. “What?”

He smiles and shrugs. “I know you want to stay in Lucky. But maybe this is an opportunity you should really consider.”

I flatten my lips and shake my head. “Not happening.” I make sure to say that nice and loud. Then I turn away.

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